An Interactive Curriculum to Teach Person-Centered Contraceptive Counseling

Following the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization Supreme Court decision, it is increasingly important for all providers to be equipped to counsel on contraceptive options. Current curricula are insufficient for medical students to attain competency in contraceptive counseling. Quality contraceptive counseling requires patient-centered communication skills, which are also critical in many other clinical scenarios. Systematic teaching of patient-centered communication is lacking, both in contraceptive counseling and more broadly.

We developed a person-centered contraceptive counseling curriculum containing a reference guide, 5- to 10-minute interactive online module, and 30-minute formative standardized patient session for clerkship-year medical students. Performance during formative sessions was evaluated using a checklist, with standardized patients and preceptors providing real-time feedback. We used surveys of knowledge, self-perceived skills, and attitudes about patient-centered counseling to compare students who did and did not receive the curriculum.

Twenty-seven students received the new curriculum. The reference guide and online module were easily integrated into a clinical rotation without requiring additional time spent by educators. The formative session required more resources to implement but was valuable for students to solidify the communication skills in the new curriculum. Checklist results showed that students demonstrated many of the counseling skills taught in the module. Survey results about the impact of the new curriculum were promising but limited by the small sample size.

The curriculum successfully introduced patient-centered contraceptive counseling skills and provided a valuable practice opportunity. Other sites could adapt components of this curriculum to enhance education in person-centered contraceptive counseling.